The Bowie Family

My ancestor William Bowie was born about 1761 in New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, Scotland.  He was the ninth of ten known children of James Bowie, originally of Denny, Stirlingshire, and his wife, Margaret Tyre.  William Bowie’s siblings were John, Margaret, Janet, Agnes, Christian, James, Elizabeth, William (born c. 1757, died as an infant) and Robert.

Brothers John and James Bowie both migrated to the Americas.  John Bowie was an officer, a Major, in the US Revolutionary Army.  He married Rosa Reid, the daughter of another officer.  John Bowie settled in Abbeville, South Carolina, where he owned land and other property, including an enslaved Negro woman named Cate, who was left along with any issue she had to his daughter Rosa in his will.  It is uncomfortable to think of a not-so-distant relative being a slave owner, however I felt that it was right to share what little I know of Cate’s story.

Too Many Too Young

This post is prompted by the #52ancestors prompt “Negatives”.  One of the negatives of researching family history or, indeed, any history, is high infant and childhood mortality. I thought I would write about one family who suffered more than their fair share of such loss.

Robert Charley was born around 1734 in Combe Martin, Devon, a picturesque town on the north Devon coast.  He was baptised in the parish church on 11 September 1734. Robert was a younger child on Richard Charley and his wife Joan Willis.  Unfortunately, the baptism registers have a gap from 1725 to 1731, so I don’t know about any children born in that period.  Robert’s known siblings were Elizabeth, Richard, William, Mary and another Mary.  The first Mary died in infancy and it was common practice to reuse the names of dead children.  Brother Richard also appears to have died young in 1737, aged about 20; I don’t know about Elizabeth and the second Mary.

Neighbours

This post is inspired by the 52 Ancestors prompt “Courting”.  It is the story of a couple who were neighbours in London before they married, Samuel Joseph George Elliston and Elfrida Mary Buss.  Yes, they both had names that are a bit of a mouthful, but appear to have been more commonly known as George and Ella or Ellen.

A Painter and Decorator

 It is a while since I have written about one of my male paternal ancestors, so I picked Thomas Tomlinson.

Thomas Tomlinson was born around 1819 at Bracken Hill, in Ackworth, Yorkshire.  He was the eighth child of John Tomlinson and Mary Brownbridge. His siblings were William, Elizabeth, John, George, Ann, Joseph, Jane, Charles, Sarah and Maria.  He was baptised on 7 November 1819 at Ackworth Parish Church.

Ackworth was and is a rural area. Record show that father John Tomlinson mostly worked as a farmer or farmer labourer, apart from a brief stint as a labourer just before Thomas was born.

I don’t know much about Thomas Tomlinson’s childhood but he signed his marriage certificates with a fluent signature, so at some point he got an education.  He may also have had the opportunity to learn some music as later in life he played violin well enough to play in public.

In his teens, Thomas must have learned his trade as a painter, gilder and decorator.  I haven’t found an apprenticeship record yet.

On 3 December 1840, Thomas Tomlinson married Martha Denton.  Thomas and Martha had at least four children: Sarah, Jane, Henry and Eliza Ann, before Martha died in February 1853.  There is a seven-year gap between Henry and Eliza Ann, so there may have been other children who I haven’t found yet.

Sometime between 1844 and 1851, Thomas and his family moved to Batley, where his brother John was already living.  Batley was a bustling industrial town so may have offered more opportunities for a young house painter.

In the 1851 Census, Thomas and family were living in Commercial Street in Batley.  The household included Stephen Briggs, an apprentice painter, who I think was Thomas’s nephew.  At this time, Thomas employed one man in his painting business.

Somehow, not long after his first wife died, Thomas met Jane Pearson, who was from Kirkland near Penrith, Cumberland, and in 1851 was a servant in Cheshire.  Thomas and Jane married in Dacre, Cumberland on 21 November 1853.  Thomas and Jane had five children in quick succession: Hannah Maria, John, Ann, Mary Brownbridge and Frances Elizabeth (my ancestor).  Frances was born on 11 March 1860 and Jane died on 27 March 1860 from haemorrhaging following her daughter’s birth.

Thomas Tomlinson’s spinster sister Maria was evidently available to help look after her nieces and nephews when needed.  In the 1861 census, she was part of the household, along with her and Thomas’s nephew George who was an apprentice learning the painter trade from his uncle.  By this time, Thomas employed two men and two boys, so was doing well.

By the time of the 1871, Thomas ruled over a household of 11 people, including his niece Sarah Ann Dunn who was a servant and sister Maria still providing child care.  He now employed 10 men and one boy, so business was booming.

In 1879, Thomas acquired a third wife, Mary Ineson nee Brook, who brought four more children into the family from her first marriage: William, Frederick, Julian and Gertrude.

By 1881, Thomas was employing 8 men and 5 boys, so still doing well.

In addition to him playing the violin, I have found further information about Thomas Tomlinson from Newspapers.  Thomas was actively involved with Zion Methodist Church in Batley musically, socially and financially. One of his close friends, also a member of the church for some time, was Reuben Blakeley.  Reuben migrated to New Zealand where he was a notable musician and composer.  He composed a hymn for Thomas’ funeral.

On 18 Dec 1898, Thomas Tomlinson died, age nearly 70.  From humble circumstances, he became a very successful painter and decorator in Batley.  When probate was granted, his effects were valued at £17809 8s 1d.  I am sure that one penny was important.

Thomas was buried at Batley Cemetery.

Notes on lineage: Me > Dad > Helen Akeroyd > Percy Tomlinson Akeroyd > Frances Elizabeth Tomlinson > Thomas Tomlinson

A Tailor of Wicken

This story is inspired by the 52 Ancestors prompt “Fashion”, which made me think of clothes and those who make them.  William Henshaw was a tailor the village of Wicken in Northamptonshire, England.

William was born on 2 March 1713* the fourth child and first son of Jonathan Henshaw, a carpenter, and his wife Amy Bloncke**.   He was baptised in the local parish church six days later on 8 March.  His siblings were: Anne, Mary, Alice, Amy and Elizabeth (twins who died in infancy), Judeth (died in infancy), Elizabeth (died in infancy), Sarah (died in infancy), Martha, Charity (died in infancy), Major, Keziah and John.  William’s early life was filled with the tragic deaths of 6 of his fourteen siblings, followed by the death of his father, Jonathan, in Mar 1729*.  Mother Amy was left a young widow with eight children to look after.  The older daughters may have helped out and there may be been support from Amy’s siblings and Jonathan’s brother Thomas.  Children Anne and Major Henshaw both died young, in 1746, before their mother who died in 1749.  Anne from small pox.

Finding William Jenkins

William Jenkins life story was my first big discovery after getting my DNA results a couple of months ago.

William Jenkins was born on 9 December 1783 in Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire, not far from Birmingham.  He was the oldest known child (at the time of writing) of William Jenkins, a sawyer, and his wife Sarah.  I have yet to find a marriage for William (senior) and Sarah; they may have married in nearby Worcestershire, which is not well covered online and not so easy to research.  William and Sarah’s other children were Thomas, Jacob, Sarah and John. 

William Jenkins was baptised on 25 July 1784 in the Tanworth-in-Arden parish church.

I don’t have any information about his childhood.  However, William was educated enough to be able to sign his name and his signature looks well practiced.

William, along with his brothers Thomas and John, followed in their father’s footsteps, becoming sawyers.  A sawyer is someone who cuts wood with a saw.  Tanworth-in-Arden is a rural area that still has some forests, which presumably provided the wood that they cut.  Brother Jacob was a builder, so may have used the wood that the rest of his family sawed.

On 31 December 1804, William Jenkins married Mary Spicer in St Martin’s church in Birmingham.  William’s address on the marriage record is given as living in the parish but he may have only been living in the area temporarily.  Thomas Spicer and Martha Spicer were witness on the marriage record.

William and Mary Jenkins went to live in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, where the Spicer family lived, more than 15 miles south of Tanworth-in-Arden.  There they had four children: Sarah, William (my Ancestor), Ann and Maria. 

Mary died in January 1811, likely a few weeks after Maria was born.  Mother’s dying from complications or infection soon after birth was all too common.  Sadly, Maria died only a few years later in February 1814.  I don’t know what happened to the other daughter’s, Sarah and Ann.

Also in 1811, William’s brother Thomas Jenkins married Mary’s sister Elizabeth Spicer.  Thomas and Elizabeth lived in Birmingham after their marriage.

It seems that soon after the death of his wife, William moved to Aston in Birmingham.  He appears to have left at least one child behind in Wellesbourne, as Maria died there.  In Birmingham, William met Charlotte Hough and they married on 4 October 1813 in Handsworth Parish Church.  William’s signature in the Handsworth Parish Register is a close match to his 1804 marriage signature.  Sarah Jenkins was a witness on the marriage record but I am not sure if it was William’s mother or sister.

William and Charlotte had six children, taking William’s total to ten.  Their children were: Eliza, Maria*, Lucy, John, Jacob and Jane. 

Life may not have been easy for the Jenkins family.  William’s son William was a juvenile delinquent who was caught stealing a couple of times.  He was transported to New South Wales, Australia, for his crimes in 1827, where he became a farmer and had 14 children.

William’s parents, William and Sarah, were long lived, both dying in the 1830s.  His father lived to 93.

In the 1841 Census, William, Charlotte and their younger children were still living in Aston, in Moseley Street.

William worked at Crowley’s Timber Yard, Cheapside, Aston.  On 2 November 1846, William had apoplexy (possibly a stroke) while at the timber yard and died instantly, aged 62.  The coroner found that he died by a visitation from God.  William was buried on 8 November at St Philip’s Church, Birmingham.

His wife Charlotte only survived him by a few weeks and was buried at the same church on 28 November 1746, leaving behind a young family.

I have a DNA match who is a descendant of William’s daughter Maria Jenkins (the younger one), and this was my big breakthrough for finding out about William Jenkins life.  Previously, I only knew about his marriage to Mary Spicer. I also have a possible DNA match with a descendant of William’s sister Sarah that needs further investigation.  I am impressed with how much DNA has helped to reveal.

*Re-using the names of dead children was a common practice.

 

Notes on lineage: Me > Mum > Daphne Madge Smith > John Henry Smith > Louisa Jane Jenkins > William Jenkins (b. 1839) > William Jenkins (b. abt 1807) > William Jenkins (b. 1783)

One Mother’s Story

This story is inspired by the 52 Ancestors prompt “Mother’s Day” in honour of Mother’s Day on 9 May in some parts of the world, including Australia.  I picked Mary Brownbridge because she had eleven children and she has an unusual surname.

Mary Brownbridge was born about 1783, in Pollington, a rural village in the parish of Snaith in Yorkshire.  She was baptised on 28 November 1783 in Snaith parish church.  Her parents were John Brownbridge and Mary Eastgate.  Mary was the sixth of their ten children.  Her siblings were John, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Bathia, Ephraim, Manassah, Anne, Isaac and Frances.  The unusual biblical names came from the Eastgate side of the family.

Father John Brownbridge was a wheel wright, so a tradesman.  I think life was not always easy for the Brownbridge family as three of the children died in early childhood: Ephrain, Manassah and Isaac.

I don’t know if Mary Brownbridge was educated.  She did not sign the marriage register on her wedding day.

Mary Brownbridge married John Tomlinson, a farmer or farm labourer from nearby Ackworth on 2 January 1803 in Snaith.  Mary was likely only 20, so a minor and her father appears to have signed the register to give his consent.

For Mary, becoming a mother may not have been straight forward.  The first child I have found for Mary and John was William, who was born on 24 February 1805, more than two years after the wedding.  I wonder if Mary miscarried or just failed to get pregnant in her first year of marriage.  Anyway, once she started having children, she had no problems with one successful pregnancy every two or three years for the next 21 years. John and Mary’s children were: Willam, Elizabeth, John, George, Ann, Joseph, Jane, Thomas (my ancestor), Charles, Sarah and Maria.  Through all her years of childbirth, she likely had support from her own mother, Mary Brownbridge nee Eastgate, who died in 1827.

Mary lost one child, Jane, in infancy.  I am not sure about two of her other daughters, Elizabeth and Ann.  Her other children lived to good ages, with Sarah dying 1912, so almost within living memory.  I share DNA with one of her son Joseph’s descendants.

In 1841, Mary and John were still living in Ackworth.  In the census, their household included Mary aged about 35, Ann age about 25, Martha aged 3, George aged 5 months and William aged 35.  The relationships are not listed but my guess is that William is their oldest son and I think Mary was his wife and possibly the mother of Martha and George.  Ann may have been John and Mary’s daughter.  John and William were listed as agricultural workers, so likely doing unskilled seasonal work on a farm, which was long hours and poorly paid.  At about 65, John must have been struggling.

Many of Mary’s children moved from Ackworth to Batley during the 1830s and 1840s.  I wonder if they were drawn by the better opportunities in an industrial town compared to the more rural are where they grew up.

Mary Brownbridge died in 1845 and was buried on 2 Jul somewhere in the churchyard of St Cuthbert’s, Ackworth, aged 62.  By this time, several of her children had married and she was a grandmother to at least seven children, as well as a mother.

While I don’t know much about Mary’s life, I do know that she brought up her children to be respectable and successful people.  Her son Thomas, my ancestor died with a fortune of nearly £18000, earned as a house painter and gilder, a long way from being an agricultural labourer. 

I carry a little of Mary’s children’s DNA so her legacy lives on.

 

Notes on lineage: Me > Dad > Helen Francis Ruth Akeroyd > Percy Tomlinson Akeroyd > Frances Tomlinson > Thomas Tomlinson > Mary Brownbridge